Siblings of slain Hartford woman say they will fight for justice for the ‘favorite aunt’ and ‘princess’ of their large family

The family of the 29-year-old woman shot to death in her Colonial Street apartment last weekend said that Adelaida Lattores-Toro was “the princess” of their family, the favorite aunt and a dedicated healthcare worker with dreams of becoming a mother.

Lattores-Toro’s sister Kathleen Fuentes raced to Colonial Street on the night of Aug. 6 after fielding dozens of calls from her sister that day. The calls, she said, stopped abruptly at 6 p.m., and more than 30 calls to her sister went unanswered.

Worried about Lattores-Toro, Fuentes said she tried to go check on her sister in the third-floor apartment she was sharing with her new boyfriend. Police officers were everywhere, red and blue lights flashing all along the street, their flashlights lighting up the twilight sky.

“I tried to describe my sister to them, to tell them what she looked like, but I already knew. I knew that my sister was dead,” she said.

Latorres-Toro was the princess of their large family, three girls and six boys all born and raised in Hartford. At a vigil on Thursday, family and friends crowded the sidewalk wearing photos of Latorres-Toro around their necks that showed the young woman adorned with angel wings in a bright blue sky filled with billowing clouds.

Her closest loved ones, her siblings, held framed portraits of their beloved little sister, including one that read: “la princesa,” or “the princess.” The frame was decorated with pink beads, white lace and blue butterflies.

At 29 years old, Latorres-Toro’s siblings said she was already successful and had dreams of an even brighter future. She worked multiple jobs as an assistant at local nursing homes, where she had found her calling in caring for the elderly and the ill, her sister said.

Her siblings said she loved to help people.

“She grew up in the church. She had a pure heart and was a very, very good person who always made sure everyone around her was OK,” said her brother Carlos Hernandez.

She’d earned her degree from Capital Community College and was working at an assisted living facility in West Hartford at the time of her death. She had just bought a new Jeep Compass, her brother said, and had dreams of building her own family someday, getting married and having children.

In the meantime, she proudly held the title of “favorite aunt,” said her older sister Gladys Santiago.

She doted over her nieces and nephews, especially Gladys Santiago’s 17-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter whom she babysat and spent time with as often as she could.

“She always liked to babysit my kids on the weekend so they had that special bond. Now that they don’t have her, it’s very hard,” said Santiago. “She was just a happy girl, always with a smile on her face, always liked to be free and very social. And she loved her family.”

Fuentes said that her sister was on a great path to achieving her goals, but those plans were all stolen from her when she was killed.

“She wanted to have a family of her own, and she was trying so hard to get where she wanted to be at,” said Fuentes, fighting back tears.

The Hartford Police Department has not yet announced any arrests in connection to her death. Her family said they fear she was a victim of domestic violence. Her death is the 25th homicide in Hartford in 2022, according to police.

Police responded to 73 Colonial Street around 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 6 after receiving a 911 call that a person had been shot. Officers found Latorres-Toro suffering from a gunshot wound inside the house. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Latorres-Toro died of a gunshot wound to her chest, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

About 11 p.m. on the night of the shooting, officers said they had detained one person for questioning. Police have not since confirmed whether that person was released or remained detained.

No charges had been filed in the case as of 1 p.m. on Sunday, and no further information about the circumstances of the shooting was available, police said.

Latorres-Toro’s family said that they remained hopeful that charges would be filed soon and that justice would be served.

Police did not confirm the connection between the person they had detained and Latorres-Toro, saying it was an ongoing investigation. Police also had not commented on whether the death was the result of domestic violence.

At the vigil, held at 6 p.m. Thursday by the faith-based justice advocacy organization Mothers United Against Violence, the Rev. Henry Brown, a founder of the organization, comforted the family in prayer as dozens of candles sat on the sidewalk near the apartment complex, nearby cars painted with Latorres-Toro’s name.

“We lost another angel in this community,” said Brown. “She was an angel. She didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. People should come out to support this family.”

He encouraged the family to talk about her, to “make her name mean something” and to commemorate her every August in their own way.

At the vigil, family and friends of Latorres-Toro were collecting donations from passersby. Her sister organized a GoFundMe at to help the family with the message “anything would help.” As of Sunday, the family had raised $3,740 of their $10,000 goal.

Latorres-Toro’s family said they will fight for justice for their sister and plan to go to every court date when charges are filed in connection to her death.

“I’m not going to give up,” said Fuentes. “My mom was a soldier to nine kids. We’re built for that.

“I have faith that I will get justice because I promised that to my little sister.”

Earlier this year, police were investigating another shooting at the same apartment building that remains unsolved. On a Saturday night in May, a man in his 20s was shot at 73 Colonial Street, according to police.

According to Hartford property records, the building is a nine-unit apartment complex owned by Broad Partners LLC, which is based in Brooklyn, New York.

The Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions were leading both investigations, which are both ongoing. Police had not provided any information about whether the two shootings were connected.

Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to contact the Hartford Police Department tip line at 860-722-8477.